Electronic wireless hand held devices, such as, for example PDAs, mobile phones, data/video-enabled cellular telephones, and other hand held wireless video-enabled devices have become a part of everyday life. For example, the shift in the consumer electronics industry from an emphasis on analog technology to a preference for digital technology is largely based on the fact that the former generally limits the user to a role of a passive recipient of information, while the latter is interactive and allows the user to control what, when, and how he or she receives and manipulates certain information. This shift in focus has resulted in the development and increasingly widespread use of a digital device generically referred to as a “personal digital assistant” (PDA).
PDAs are hand held computing devices (i.e., hereinafter referred to as “hand held devices” or “handheld devices”) that are popular for processing, storing and maintaining information. The most advanced data-enabled wireless communication devices available in the marketplace on Jun. 27, 2000, the priority date of this patent application, took the form of a PDA. Examples of hand held devices that could be utilized in accordance with the methods and systems of the present invention include the “PalmPilot™” PDA, manufactured and sold by Palm Computing, the Handspring Visor™, Window CE.TM. compatible devices, RIM™ Blackberry-family devices, Motorola devices, and the Symbol™ SPT-family of PDA-type organizer devices. Unlike personal computers, which are general-purpose devices geared towards refining and processing information, PDAs are designed to capture, store and display information originating from various sources while a user is “on the go” or otherwise mobile. Additionally, while a certain level of skill is required to use a personal computer effectively, PDAs are designed with the novice and non-computer user in mind and are therefore intuitively easy to use.
A typical PDA includes a microprocessor, memory unit, a display, associated encoder circuitry, and a user interface generally provided in the form of a keyboard and selector buttons. A PDA can optionally contain an infrared emitter and wireless receiver. A graphical user interface permits a user to store, retrieve and manipulate data via an interactive touch-sensitive display. A PDA can also include software that enables software applications for using a calendar, directory, calculator, games, and one or more multimedia programs. The calendar typically provides dates organized as rows and columns in the usual form. A directory contains entries consisting of a name field and a free form alphanumeric text field that can contain company names, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, email addresses, etc. Games and multimedia software features can vary.
A menu of icons displayed via the graphical user interface as pad of the touch sensitive screen can permit a user to choose particular functions and directories. Some PDAs come equipped with a stylus, which is a plastic-tipped pen that a user utilizes to write digitally on the display area and tap particular graphically displayed icons; although a user's figure nail can accomplish the same. Each icon is indicative of a particular activity or function. Touch screen interfaces, however, are also increasingly being implemented with PDAs to permit a user to activate software modules in the form of routines and subroutines operable therein.
Although it was generally known before Jun. 27, 2000 that PDAs can be connected to a desktop personal computer or other PDAs via infrared, direct wire, or a single wireless communication links, PDAs and similar hand held devices were not available that could selectively link to more than one wireless connection for purposes of accessing remote multimedia data and multimedia data sources, such as the Internet and remote servers. PDAs were not provided that included more than one wireless transceiver module to enable remote access via 802.11, cellular, short/visible range (e.g., Bluetooth), infrared, and GPS resources, and also provide enhanced computing capabilities including the capability of processing and viewing multimedia data such as video broadcasts.
In the year 2000, the present inventors realized when they filed their patent applications that what would be needed in the future, among other things, was an electronic wireless hand held multimedia device that could connect to various data networks and establish short/visible range data connections with electronic devices located in close proximity, provide multimedia capabilities including remotely accessing and displaying of video, enabling access to email and multimedia content from the Internet including servers and the World Wide Web, determining location information and enable the determination and provision of directions to alternate location by accessing remote map information and displaying the map information on the display touch sensitive display screen, a technique which can be referred to as GPS mapping, and enable mobile payments through the device, for example, by enabling hand held device users to be billed a transaction fee via bank accounts (e.g., ATM, Debit and Credit cards) billing via communication service accounts or arrangements, and prepaid services, and other authorized account-related billing arrangements. A security module can be provided to enable protected data retrieval and management by enabling the use of pass codes, passwords and/or biometrics as well as communications security over communications signals during hand held device use. A video camera and video transmission capabilities enable a user to capture, store, process and transmit video and take pictures.